


When Will My Life Begin

by FayeHunter



Series: Tangled Muke AU [1]
Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Here is more tangled au, M/M, but this time its the frying pan scene, i love this au very much
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:13:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26054014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FayeHunter/pseuds/FayeHunter
Summary: Luke just wants to go out and see the floating lights for his birthday. A strange man coming through his window might be his answer.Tangled AU but it's the frying pan scene
Relationships: Michael Clifford/Luke Hemmings, well pre anyway
Series: Tangled Muke AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1876993
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	When Will My Life Begin

**Author's Note:**

  * For [expectopatronuz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/expectopatronuz/gifts), [jbhmalum](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jbhmalum/gifts).



> I'm back! With more Tangled AU! This time it's Luke's POV for the frying pan scene. [Em](https://jbhmalum.tumblr.com/) requested this scene because she loves Tangled and this AU and who am I to refuse. Shout out to [Maggie](https://calumsclifford.tumblr.com/) for hearing me yell about this. This series is a love letter to them both. 
> 
> Also shout out to the Club I love all of you!
> 
> Shout out to [Liz](https://pushkinalexander.tumblr.com/) for editing this yet again

When Luke got up this morning, he wasn’t expecting his day to take this kind of turn. It had started like any other day. He’d gotten up, made some food, played hide and seek with Petunia, painted on what little space he had left on his walls. Luke thought about cleaning, but considering he wasn’t leaving the tower anytime soon, it seemed unimportant.

And then there had been the matter of Mother. Luke had  _ finally _ worked up enough courage to ask her about letting him go see the floating lights. It’s his twenty-first birthday in a few days and he figured that he was old enough to leave the tower and go see them. He knows they’re not for him  _ exactly, _ but they always appear on his birthday. It always felt special and nice seeing them once a year on his day. A little part of him has always liked thinking that they were for him, a birthday gift from the world to him. Luke desperately wants to see them, at least once, in person. He wants to be able to touch them, to be a part of whatever celebration it is that is happening.

Mother had, of course, rejected the idea immediately. She’d gone on and on about how dangerous the world was, that it was dark and full of evil and danger, that Luke and his hair would be at risk if he left. She’d called him clumsy and ditzy, told him he wasn’t smart or savvy enough to survive on his own out in the world. She’d left him with the brush-off that he shouldn’t ever ask to leave again, for his own health and safety. She’d been mean and cruel, insulting him and then she’d just left.

Luke just wanted a  _ hug. _ But it’s very hard to have a lizard give you a hug when you need it and it’s not like Mother was here to give him one. She’s never been here when he needed it, not when he’d broken his arm and cried for hours from the pain until he’d realized he could use his hair. Not when he gets sad and lonely, worried that she’s been gone for too long and she’s never coming back for him. Luke doesn’t know what he’d do if something happened to her. He can’t just leave the tower; he would have nowhere to go. If she never comes back after this argument, Luke’s not sure what will happen to him.

  
And then this...this _man_ had shown up. Climbed in right through the window (which Luke’s not sure how he managed that) and landed at his feet practically. He hadn’t known what to do and on instinct, had hit the stranger with the only thing he could get his hands on, which happened to be a frying pan. He’s reasonably sure he hasn’t killed him, only knocked him unconscious. He’s laying facedown on the rug, the bag he was carrying splayed out next to him. Luke doesn’t think he’s that big a danger in this state. He doesn’t have pointy teeth or sharp claws. He doesn’t even look _that_ mean.

Luke is busy examining him when he’s suddenly struck by an idea. If he can show this man to Mother, prove that he’s capable of taking care of himself, then maybe she’ll let him go see the lights! He scrambles to lift up the body and drag it over to the wardrobe he has. The man is heavier than he thought, but he manages to drag him across the room and successfully heave him into it. He slams the doors and props a chair under the knob to keep it closed.

“Petunia! Look what I did! I managed to take him down and trap him! Mother has to let me go now to see the lights, I mean look at what I just did. I’m not too weak to handle myself,” Luke whispers excitedly to his lizard. Petunia cocks her head to the side, nodding along with him.

“Oh! He had a bag! I should go hide that too.” He turns to grab the bag, noticing that the flap has fallen open. Curious, he peeks inside it. There’s a beautiful circlet of jewels. He slowly pulls it out, turning it over in his hands. 

“Petunia, what do you think this could be?” Luke whispers. It’s bigger than the ring he has. It’s too large to fit on his wrist and he doesn’t think it’s big enough to be a necklace. Carefully, Luke turns to the mirror and places it on his head. It shines in the light. He tilts his head to the side, letting the light from the window catch in the jewels. It glows slightly. He’s never seen anything so pretty before. He wonders who wears this kind of thing, what the purpose of it is. The stones in it are similar to the one in the center of his ring he notices. Maybe those kinds of things are common down where this man is from.

“Luke,” Mother calls from below the tower. Luke jumps, looking around frantically. He hadn’t expected her to come back so quickly. “Let down your hair,” She sing-songs.

“One moment Mother!” Luke calls, pulling the thing off his head and tossing it into a nearby vase for hiding. He kicks the bag off to the side and runs to the window. Now is the perfect chance for him to show her what he’s done. She’ll have to let him go now if he can show her what he’s managed to do on his own.

“Luke! I have a surprise for you!” She calls. 

Luke hooks his hair over the peg and throws it down, “I have one too!”

“I bet my surprise is bigger and better,” She sing-songs again as Luke pulls her up.

“I seriously doubt it,” Luke mumbles. He finally manages to pull her up enough that she’s able to sit at the ledge of the window and climb into the room.

“I brought back parsnips. I’m going to make hazelnut soup for dinner. It’s your favorite! Just for your birthday! Surprise!” Mother makes her way to the table he has, placing her basket on the table.

Luke frowns. He doesn’t like hazelnut soup. He prefers the squash soup she makes. Mother likes the hazelnut soup. She looks at him expectantly. 

“Well Mother, that’s nice and all, but I have something I want to tell you-”

“Luke, you know I hate leaving you after we’ve had a fight. Especially when I’ve done nothing wrong. But you just keep pushing and pushing after I’ve told you how worried I am for you to be out there, especially with how special your hair is. I only want to keep you safe you know,” She starts to pull everything out of the basket, going about preparing for dinner. 

“Well, I’ve been thinking a lot about what you said earlier-”

She sighs dramatically. “I hope you’re still not talking about the stars.”

“Floating lights. And I’m leading up to that.” Luke starts to make his way over the wardrobe. Her back is turned to him, so maybe this can be a surprise. He can finally prove that he is capable of taking care of himself, of going out into the world to see the floating lights for one night.

“Because I thought we dropped the issue sweetheart.”

“No ,Mother, I’m just saying you think I’m not strong enough to handle myself out there,” Luke says, making his way towards the wardrobe.

“Oh I know you’re not strong enough to handle yourself out there,” She says, glancing at him. There’s an air of finality to what she’s saying but he’s determined to show her what he’s done to prove himself to her.

“But if you would just-” Luke pleads, hand on the chair, ready to pull it out from under the door to show her the body he has.

“We’re done talking about this.”

“Trust me! I know what I’m-”

“Luke! Enough with the lights! You are not leaving this tower! Ever!” Mother yells, rounding on Luke. She looks angry, angrier than he has ever seen her. 

Luke shrinks back, filled with fear and dread. He pulls his hand off the chair. Maybe it’s better if he doesn’t show her what he’s done. Maybe if the man wakes up, he can bribe him to take him to where the floating lights are. Mother doesn’t have to know that he’s even left. He can convince her to leave him alone for a few days and be back before she knows it.

“Great, now I’m the bad guy,” She sighs heavily, looking at him expectantly.

“I was just going to say that you’re right. I would be safer here. I decided that what I wanted for my birthday is a new guitar,” Luke says carefully, evenly. He can’t give away his new idea, lest she know what he’s planning.

She glances up at him, “But you have one already.”

“The strings are old and worn down. And I’m out of strings to replace them with.”

“It will take me almost a week to get you a new one similar to what you have.”

“I just thought it would be a better idea than the stars,” Luke says, making a point to emphasize the word she’s been using. She perks up at that. “Maybe I could write a song for you with the new one.”

She sighs, coming over to Luke, holding her arms open. He quietly wraps his arms around her in a hug, which she half-heartedly returns.

“You’re sure you’ll be alright sweetheart?”

“I know I’m safe as long as I’m here,” he says. Mother kisses his hair, petting it fondly.

Luke bites his tongue all through dinner, preparing Mother a basket of food to take with her, and lowering her back down out of the tower and onto the ground. He waits until she’s completely out of sight, gives it an extra few beats in case she turns back. When he’s reasonably sure that she’s gone, he cautiously approaches the wardrobe with his frying pan and pulls the chair away. The body falls out. The man is still unconscious. Luke frowns. Well, that wasn’t part of the plan.

“What do I do?” He hisses to Petunia. She seems to shrug at him, before pointing at the chair. Oh! He can tie the man to the chair using all of his hair. He makes quick work of it, securely wrapping him up.

He steps back, proud of his handiwork. Now just to wake him up. He’s still pondering how to do it, when Petunia creeps up onto the man's shoulder and sticks her tongue into his ear. He screams, jolting awake with a cry. He looks down around himself, around the room, and then back up at Luke.

“Is this hair?”

“Hey! I ask the questions here!” Luke says, trying to make himself appear imposing. The man smirks. Luke draws himself up to his full height. The man just raises an eyebrow at him. “I know why you’re here and I’m not afraid of you!”

The man cocks his head to the side, a look of confusion on his face, “Let’s say for argument's sake that I don’t know what you’re talking about. What do you think I’m here for?”

“My hair. Mother warned me that people would try to come and take my hair from me. So what are you here for and how did you find me?”

“Well, I was just wandering through the forest on the run from some people when I came across your tower. Honestly, I thought it was empty and it seemed like a good place to hide. Didn’t expect to find a lovely young man such as yourself here.”

“Stop changing the subject. You have to have known about my hair!”

“What is so special about your hair? Just because it’s long? And where did you put my satchel anyway? If anyone has been wronged here, it’s me!”

“You broke into my home! I’ll keep your satchel until you tell me why you’re here!” Luke yells, pointing his frying pan at the man.

The man looks down, sighs and takes a deep breath. He looks up at Luke, smiling widely, “The name’s Michael. Michael Clifford. I’d shake your hand but, well. You have me tied up and all.”

“Shake my hand?”

“Yeah, it’s a thing people do. To greet one another? Jeez how long have you been up here; Princess?”

“Twenty-one years. This is my home, where else would I go?”

“Do you have anyone here with you?”

“Just Mother.”

Michael blinks at him. “Sounds fucking depressing.”

“It is...lonely sometimes. But I have Petunia here.” Luke lifts her up, grinning. Michael looks concerned.

“And do I get a name to go with your lovely face?”

“Luke. Just the one name. You really don’t want my hair?”

“Not particularly. The only thing I want to do is get out of it, take my satchel, and leave. People really want your hair that badly?”

Luke decides not to tell Michael about the magic in his hair. It’s better to keep it a secret. “Mother just tells me that. She says it’s why I have to stay up here.”

There’s a pause as Michael and Luke study each other. Luke’s not really sure what to make of Michael. He supposes he looks nice, but then again he’s never really seen someone else before. He’s got some kind of hoop in one of his ears though and some metal stuck in his eyebrow. He seems like a reasonable enough guide to take Luke to the floating lights.

“So can I take my satchel and go? I promise I won’t tell anyone about this place.”

“I have a deal to make with you.”

“I’m not giving you the satchel.”

“I want you to take me with you.”

“Come again?”

“Do you know where the floating lights are?”

“You mean the lantern thing the king and queen do for the lost prince?”

“I  _ knew _ they weren’t stars!” Luke exclaims, clapping his hands.

“Focus. What do they have to do with this?”

“It’s my birthday in a few days. And every year on my birthday at night, they release these. I want you to take me to see them and then bring me back here. Safely. And then I will give you the satchel back.”

“The only problem with that is that I can’t exactly uh, go back to the kingdom. Sort of the people I’m running from.”

“Well that sounds like a you problem, Michael Clifford. If you want to get your satchel back, that’s my deal.”

Michael grins, “You’ve got some attitude, Princess. I’ll help get you to the lanterns and back safe and sound for my satchel.”

Luke cheers in happiness, clapping excitedly, “Oh will you really? Oh thank you so much! This is the best gift ever!”

“Alright, calm down. It’s just some lanterns, Princess. Tone down the happiness or I’ll leave you here anyway.”

Luke sticks his tongue out at him. Michael huffs out a laugh, rolling his eyes, “Alright, enough chit-chat, Luke. We’ve got a journey ahead of us if you want to get to the lanterns in time, so you’d better untie me.”

Luke smiles. This is the best gift he’s ever gotten. 

**Author's Note:**

> Come find me on [tumblr!](https://pixiegrl.tumblr.com/) Talk to me about Stardust, 5sos, Luke Hemmings, or you can sidetrack me by giving me more fic ideas


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